Lot 2510. Property from Mayuyama & Co., Ltd. An exceptional heirloom Jian russet-streaked 'nogime tenmoku' bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 12.9 cm, Japanese lacquer box and wood box. Lot Sold 4,572,000 HKD (Estimate 2,800,000 - 3,500,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2023

Provenance: Passed down in Japan since medieval times.
The Kuroda family collection.

Note: Covered with a most lustrous blue-tinged black glaze marked with mesmerising ‘hare’s fur’ streaks that falls neatly around the lower body, the current bowl ranks among the most exemplary and celebrated products of the Jianyang kilns from the Song dynasty.

The outcome of the black glazes of the tea bowls was highly unpredictable as it was dependent on the ways in which the air bubbles burst during the firing, which explains why tenmoku bowls are seen with ‘hare’s fur’ streaks, as well as oil spots, each one ranging in tone from russet brown to metallic blue. Glazes with russet-brown ‘hare’s fur’ streaks are perhaps more commonly seen and most iconic of the Jian tea bowls, but those with a metallic bluish tinge, such as the present bowl, are the most sought after as they would have dramatically contrasted against the white foam of whipped tea, and therefore further appealed to the Buddhist monks.

Heirloom, also known as densei (‘passed down’), tenmoku bowls that have been passed down from hand to hand over the centuries in Japan are highly treasured, and those that are endowed with illustrious provenances such as the current one are even more so. The tradition of densei in Japan refers to the passing down of cherished objects from one generation to the next within a lineage, which further elevates each object over time. Before entering the hands of Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, the current bowl once belonged to the renowned Kuroda family collection, which also included a yuteki tenmoku bowl that was later sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 15th September 2016, lot 707, from the Linyushranren collection.

See a similar heirloom ‘nogime tenmoku’ bowl with a superb iridescent glaze, exhibited as early as the 1960s in Tokyo and later dealt through the hands of Mayuyama & Co. Ltd, Tokyo, sold in our London rooms, 11th May 2011, lot 7.

Sotheby's. Karamono: Heirlooms of Chinese Art from Medieval Japan, Hong Kong, 9 October 2023